It was a saga that threatened to swallow the summer of 2012, an unavoidable trade that worried some Blue Jackets fans sick and served as an advertisement that the Jackets were a franchise for which the most patient of superstars no longer wanted to play.

One year ago today it all came to a head when Rick Nash, the Blue Jackets’ Mr. Everything, was traded to the New York Rangers, fulfilling a request he’d made six months earlier.

The Blue Jackets acquired centers Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov, defenseman Tim Erixon and a first-round draft pick that was spent on rough-and-tumble winger Kerby Rychel at last month’s draft.

“I know it was a long, drawn-out affair,” said John Davidson, the Blue Jackets president of hockey operations who ran the St. Louis Blues when the trade was made.

“Deals of that magnitude are really hard to put together. There are only so many teams Rick would go to, only so many of those teams that were interested, only so many of those teams that had salary cap space, and only so many that were willing to give up the assets that (former Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson) was asking for. So it’s a puzzle that had to fit, and that takes time.”

When the trade went down, Howson and the Blue Jackets were blistered by many in the national hockey media.

“This is a disaster for the CBJ,” said former Blue Jackets GM Doug MacLean, who now works for Canadian TV network Sportsnet.

ESPN’s Barry Melrose said, “I don’t think that’s enough (in return).”

TSN’s Aaron Ward said, “I feel bad for Columbus.”

Clearly, the Blue Jackets gave up the best player in the trade. Nash is a perennial All-Star, an Olympic gold medal winner, etc.

But the trade had a transformative effect on the Blue Jackets, both on the ice and in the room. Dubinsky and Anisimov helped set the tone for what became a much faster, hard-working team.

“It gave us depth,” Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. “We went into the season knowing our strength was our defense, but with Arty and Brandon being able to play so well down the middle, it really stabilized our lineup, gave us more competitive lines, and we used those guys in just about every aspect of the game.”

Richards said the loss of Nash gave room for others to grow. Anisimov and Dubinsky, much like Jack Johnson months earlier, arrived in Columbus with tremendous attitudes.

While others wanted off the bus, the pair wanted to sit in the driver’s seat and make the Blue Jackets a winner. Dubinsky has been mentioned by Richards as a potential captain.

“I’ve seen it before, where you have your superstar — and Rick is a superstar — and everybody defaults to him, you’re waiting for him to do something or say something,” Richards said. “When he’s gone, it falls on other guys to step up. Now they have to, whereas before they (might) have sat back and watched just out of respect.”

Meanwhile, Nash had a solid first season with the Rangers. He led the team in goals (21), was second in scoring (42 points) and had the best plus-minus ratio (plus-16) of his career.

But the trade wasn’t seen as quite so lopsided once the season started.

“The Rangers had a lot of trouble up the middle, and they found that losing (Anisimov) was a real loss,” said Andrew Gross, who covers the Rangers for the Bergen (N.J.) Record. “They missed Dubinsky’s energy, too.

“(Former coach John Tortorella) always talked throughout the year — whining, really — about the lack of depth on the roster, and he didn’t hide the fact that it was the Nash trade, to a large extent.”

Nash is facing immense pressure to win in New York, especially after the Rangers, picked by many to win the Stanley Cup, were bounced in five games by Boston in the second round. He had only one goal in 12 postseason games.

With Marian Gaborik traded — ironically to Columbus — Nash is now clearly the Rangers’ top weapon.

“He was not good in the playoffs when they really needed him to be good,” Gross said. “And when he was asked to assess his play after the fact, he said, ‘Good.’

“That didn’t go over great. The fans would have appreciated a little more falling on the sword. But still, if you talk to anyone in the organization, they would make the trade again 10 times out of 10.”

Richards agreed, from a different perspective.

“I watched Rick play a lot of games last season on TV, and it was the same old Rick; he was the best player on the ice,” Richards said. “But there comes a time when you have to move on.

“For us, we got guys that helped us change the culture. We love the guys we got, and we like where we’re going with them.”

The Blue Jackets and Rangers, now members of the Metropolitan Division, will play four times this coming season. The first meeting is on Nov. 7 in Nationwide Arena.

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